Pumpkin Patches Galore!

Here it is Monday again. What a busy weekend. We went to 3 pumpkin patches/orchards in 3 days. Friday we went to the Cambridge Orchard and the girls had a blast. They got to jump on a "jumping pillow", swim in a corn pool, visit a one-room school house, and drive petal tractors. You can see from the pictures that Sarah is having fun with her new camera and always trys to put matching clothes on the girls. On Sunday we went up to Deal's Orchard in Jefferson. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to get family pictures taken. I was wrong. The girls were in no mood to get their picture taken and the wind was raging at 30 mph. The girls had fun eating all the free sample apples and pears. We finally did get our family picture taken in the backyard at the Trueblood's. They turned out really well and I will have those up over the next few days.



Ava running through the pumpkins.


Ava being like her dad.

What perfect little angels.

Ella running through the pumpkins.

The girls on the jumping pillow.

Ella and Sarah jumping.

You can't be tried all ready!

Ava making a corn angel.

A Tale of Two Halves

Well, what can I say. The title of this blog tells is all. The first half of the game was some of the funnest football I have seen at Iowa State in a long time. The second half was what I am used to. The atmosphere at the game was some of the best and the crowd was in it the whole first half. Then came the second half. It was depressing to watch the Jayhawks come back. One good thing is that Iowa State never gave up and almost one the football game. On a side note, the tailgating was fun as usual. We went to the game with Mark and Jane (Sarah's parents). We had breakfast burritos, snack mix and the usual beverages of any tailgate. One thing is for sure, Iowa State fans know how to party before a game. It was good before outside the stadium, but once in it was hot. I should know because I actually got sunburned on the right side of my face. Here are some pictures of tailgating and inside the game. Notice the scoreboard in the picture of Sarah and I. It was in the first half, you can tell by the score. This is when I was happy. I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend and has a good week.

Lance


Cyclones running onto the field.


A nice picture of the crowd.

Opening kickoff. Look at that line.

Inside the stadium.

Hard to see, but we are actually winning.

Cold before the game.

Us and Mark.

Sarah and I having fun before the game.



A group photo during the tailgate.

Just the girls.

Here are some more pics of the girls around the house. It has been a busy week so far. I am counting down the days until my last football game, which is next week. The team hasn't won a game all year so we are hoping to pull out of that slump next Tuesday. This weekend we are heading up to Ames for the the game against Kansas. Sarah and I are looking forward to the tailgating and the game. Hopefully the Cyclones can pull out a victory but it will be tough. Look later on in the weekend for pictures from the game.
With the other CY the girls have been loving her to death. She is growing and is becoming part of the family very quickly. She is definitely Ava's pet. She carries Cy around all the time and is always looking out for her. Thank goodness she gets her claws out next Thursday. All of us have scratches of love from the cat. Everybody have a wonderful weekend.

Lance

Ave carrying the cat like a baby. (Look at the love)

Bath time at the McConnell house.

Ella and her mohawk!


Ella and Grandma Sue at her surprise B-Day party in Ogden.

Sarah's New Hobby

Here are some pictures that Sarah took with her new toy. Recently Sarah has been into taking pictures and lots of them. She has been wanting a new camera that took really good pictures. After research and lots of selling on Craigslist she finally bought a camera. She purchased a Cannon Rebel XSi, with a big zoom lens. It is a 12.2 megapixel that can take multiple pictures a second. Now she is taking pictues like a wild woman. She takes the girls outside and poses them to take pictures. Ave does really well, Ella not so well.
Today we took them to a park and shot some pictures of them. She has a very good eye and the pictures turned out amazing. We will be taking appointments in the near future for weddings, graduations, and baby pictures!! Ok maybe not yet. But she would like to get into something like that eventually just for fun. Enjoy the pictures and have a good rest of the weekend.


Sarah taking a picture with her new camera.

Pictures with new camera.

Another Busy Weekend

There are times that I think that a weekend won't be that busy. I am never right. This weekend was no exception. It was my Mom's (Sue's) birthday so my dad planned a surprise birthday for her at the coffee house in Ogden. Sarah and the girls went up there with all the other ladies and surprised her when she came in. I wasn't there but I heard that she was really surprised. So my dad also made a birthday dinner for the family. Which meant I had to eat. Also Sarah's Uncle Tom had is retirement party at the Tic Toc in Boone which meant I had to eat some more. Every time I go to Ogden it seems like a gain 15 pounds. I shouldn't go back as often or I will weigh 500 pounds. We didn't get home till about 9:00 so Cy (the new kitty) was deprived of any contact and she wanted attention and a lot of it.
On a side note we have purchased a new (used to everybody else) car. We bought Mark and Janes' Tahoe. It means more space for us and the kids. The girls also get a DVD player to watch movies on long trips. I wasn't sure what happened but the day after we officially said we would take the car, it died. It needed a new battery. I don't know if Mark was trying to sell us a piece of crap or what!!! Just kidding. All it needed was a new battery and it was as good as new.
I will have pictures up as soon as Sarah gets them on the computer. Everybody have a wonderful weekend.

Halloween Costumes

The girls were excited the other day to try on their costumes that they will be wearing for Halloween. Ava is going to be a kitty and Ella is going to be a bee. We have been working with Ava on a joke to tell when she goes to houses but she is somewhat confused by it. We will keep working with her. Beggars night for us it October 30th, and they are all ready excited about getting their fill of candy.

Ella as a happy bee!

Ella and Ava together!

Say cheese!

What a couple of hams!

New Family Member

Here is a different way to keep updated. This one is a little easier to use and hopefully I will keep up on it.
We added a new member to the family on Friday. "Little Cy" as Ava calls her, is a 7 week old kitten. My brother, John, had a male and a female kitten from his female and asked us if we would like one of them. Well, you don't tell a 3 year old about a kitten and then not get it. My mom brought her down Friday night and she became one of the family right away. Ava and Ella both LOVE her dearly. Sometime I think they will lover her to death (literally). She sleeps downstairs and the girls can't get enough of her. Here are some pictures of the "arrival." Have a wonderful weekend, and God Bless.